I've been working on a new height modification for my Lawn Robot - the Lawnbott Evolution 3210 - and I started to get into some things that I couldn't do without a lathe.  So, I started researching around and finally settled on the Micromark 7x14.  I received it a week or so ago.

What I ordered

In addition to the 7x14 lathe, I ordered the following accessories:

MINI CUT-OFF AND BORING BAR SET

ROCKER TOOL POST, 5/8 " CAPACITY

INDICATOR WITH MAGNETIC BASE

8-PIECE HSS MINI TOOL BIT SET

MINI LATHE MILLING ATTACHMENT

4-PIECE CENTER DRILL SET

5/16 INCH HIGH SPEED STEEL END MILL, 9/16 INCH LENGTH OF CUT, 3/8 INCH SHANK, CENTER CUT, 4-FLUTE

3/16 INCH HIGH SPEED STEEL END MILL, 7/16 INCH LENGTH OF CUT, 3/8 INCH SHANK, CENTER CUT, 4-FLUTE

FACE PLATE, 6-1/4 " DIA.

SELF-CENTERING 3-JAW CHUCK

V BLOCK & CLAMP, MATCHED SET OF 2

I also decided I needed a more accurate set of calipers.  I had been using a set that I got from Harbor Freight, but I wanted a bit more accuracy.  I ended up finding a sale on a 6" Mitutoyo Electronic Caliper - MIT-500-196.  This one has a resolution of .0005"/0.01mm and accuracy of +/-.001".  These should allow me to get some pretty precise readings and measurements.

Setting up and cleaning

I received the lathe in 3 boxes.  Micromark partially disassembles the lathe for easier shipping.  I also had ordered the mini-milling attachment which came in a separate box.  The carriage, cross-slide, and tailstock were all removed so I was able to easily clean those before putting them back on.  Following instructions I found on mini-lathe.com, I used kerosene to clean off the remainder of the thick red grease.  One of the nice things is that Micromark removes a lot of the red grease before shipment as opposed to models from other stores that come caked with it.  Because of that it didn't take me a lot of time to clean everything.  I got a couple of chip brushes from the hardware store and used those to clean off the parts of the lathe I couldn't soak in the kerosene.  When I was done cleaning, I used white lithium grease on all screw threads, especially on the carriage screw and cross-slide screw feeds.  I also used way oil I bought from Wholesale Tools (15 lube - equivalent to Mobil Vactra 1) to lubricate all other mating surfaces.

After getting the bigger parts assembled, I started adjusting the lathe to eliminate any movement that would contribute to inaccurate drilling/turning.  It took a bit to do the adjustments but I was able to tighten down the gib strips on the cross-slide and carriage and other components such that they still moved freely but had no slop in them.

I had to install a couple of gears in the drive mechanism.  Most of the gears are plastic, however Micromark has metal gears on the spindle shaft which is different than other models.  Note that all 7x lathes are all made in the Sieg factory in China and then each retailer puts their stamp on them.  Micromark is the only one that offers the 7x14 which is why I went with them.  The gears went on easily enough and so did the motor control box.  I had an issue with the digital RPM readout on the control box.  It wasn't working at all and just read 0000 when I turned the lathe on for a test.  I took it out and noticed that two of the solder joints on the back of the small circuit board were touching.  I used a small soldering pen and removed a bit of solder so they weren't touching.  I also noticed that a bit of grease was on the plastic part that goes around the gear on the spindle shaft.  I cleaned that off and had to use a business card to clean out a small slit.  After doing these two adjustments - the soldering and cleaning the grease off, the RPM readout worked fine.  I should have tested it right after I did the soldering to see if that was the problem, but I also cleaned it at the same time so I can't really say for sure what the issue was.  I wouldn't recommend messing with the circuit board if you can at all help it.

 All in all, I'd say the set up and cleaning went very smoothly and I've already done some drilling, turning, and light milling.

I've also been spending quite a bit of time reading up on how to make my own lathe tools.  I've studied the tools I bought and read quite a bit online on the angles needed and I think I have down what is necessary to make/sharpen a turning tool.  I haven't bought any blanks yet but plan on doing that soon so I can have something ready once the pre-made tools I bought wear down.  Once you see a turning/facing tool in action and see how the angles on the tool allow it to function properly it all starts to make sense.

First project

I need to make a slotter attachment for the lathe to cut some accurate keyways into several sprockets.  I've found some pretty good ideas and rough instructions online on how to do this.  Here is an example: http://homepage3.nifty.com/amigos/slotter/slotting_tool-e.htm

I will be using a smaller shaft since my sprockets have an 8mm bore but the design will be essentially the same.  I've ordered all the parts I need and am waiting for them to come in.

The slotter attachment project is taking shape.  I have a block of steel cut and machined square. The block is 4" tall x 3.5" wide x 2.5" deep.  Since I don't have a milling machine and this size of material wouldn't fit in the lathe milling attachment, I bought a 5" 4-jaw chuck for the lathe.  All 4 jaws are independantly adjustable and reversable so that allowed me to secure the steel block to machine all 6 sides.  The steel block was originally 3.5x3.5x4".  I used a cutoff saw to trim it to size (that was fun!) and then faced it square in the lathe.

Here is a picture of the steel block - ready to be drilled:

Here is the lathe with the 5" 4-jaw chuck.  It weighs almost 15lbs!  I was a little apprehensive about turning a 13lb chunk of metal at 800rpm, but I tightened the chuck as much as I could and it worked fine.  The picture below has a different piece of metal in the chuck - obviously that is not the steel block pictured above.

Here is the cutoff saw I used - 14" Hitachi I bought from Lowes.  Lots of dust produced while cutting through the steel block.  Defiinitely wear face protection as well as a dust mask!

The next step will be to drill holes through the height of the steel block so I can secure it to the cross-slide connector.  I had to order some taper length drill bits since regular bits are too short.

I have completed the slotter tool - here are some pictures as I went through the process:

Here is the steel block with holes drilled through to fit on the cross slide securing mechanism.  The outside holes are drilled straight through the block and the middle hole is drilled a quarter of an inch deep.

This is the steel block secured to the cross slide connector - the screws are 4.5" long and go all the way through the block.

And here are the brass bushings in the process of being made:

 And lastly, here is the finished tool and a sprocket just finished cutting the keyslot:

The sprocket that you see above has an 8mm bore so I used an 8mm rod for the shaft in the slotter tool and then turned down the end for the cutting bit to about 6.3mm.  That allowed me to have the cutting bit extend enough so that I could advance the bit into the work.  This tool was modeled after the tool at this link: http://homepage3.nifty.com/amigos/slotter/slotting_tool-e.htm.  Mine isn't as fancy as this one but it works fine. I made my version a different size to fit my lathe and also to fit the bore size in which I was going to cut the key slots.